In the printing field wherein paper or like record media is caused to be transported past a line of printing, it is a well-known fact that precise control of the paper, as it is driven past the printing line, is important to effect good print quality. In a journal printed, a supply roll of paper is carried on a spindle or supply roller positioned in one area or section of the printer and a take-up roller is supported or contained in another area or section of the printer. The journal paper, as it travels from the supply roll to the take-up roll, is directed or guided in a path past the line of printing, and it is essential that the tension or tautness of the paper be maintained in a desired attitude or condition from one roll to the other roll for good printing operation.
Additionally, it is important that the tension or tautness of the paper is controlled when the paper is rolled or rewound onto the take-up roller so as to effect or provide a smooth and uniform roll of journal paper in a rewound condition. One method of controlling the tension in the paper and the condition of the layers of paper as they are rewound onto the take-up roller is by means of a spring-loaded, friction type clutch. The friction type clutch provides that the journal paper is generally under a constant tension by reason that the take-up roller may be friction-controlled or under spring tension. It is also seen that any frictional forces occurring during the take-up operation as a result or by reason of such constant tension on the paper may prevent realignment of certain layers of the paper which have become skewed in the rewinding operation. It is desirable that some means be provided in the paper take-up apparatus for better controlling the attitude and condition of the journal paper so as to maintain the paper under proper tension as it is being driven or transported past the line of printing during the printing operation, while at the time of transporting or advancing permitting the paper to be evenly, uniformly and precisely rolled onto the take-up roller.
Representative documentation in the field of the control of paper or like strip material rollers includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,259, issued to G. Gamberini on Sept. 27, 1966, which discloses a supply roll brake using a spring friction coupling formed by a disk, a free-wheeling device and a spring-loaded brake for controlling strip material as it is drawn from a spool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,139, issued to D. D. Alper on June 24, 1980, discloses a paper take-up mechanism which uses a single slip drive system and one or more paper rewind coils to simultaneously apply forward driving force to one or more paper rolls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,212, issued to E. S. Wu on Jan. 27, 1981, discloses a printer platen clutch having releasable coupling means allowing printer controlled or manual indexing of the platen and including an external clutch member which is rotatably mounted and spring urged along a shaft, an internal clutch member fixedly mounted on the shaft and having an external cone clutch element normally engaged with the internal element by the spring, and a manual clutch disengaging member axially movable along the shaft.